Author Archives: Comics Forum

Americas

Canada

Culture

The “What Were Comics?” research project is a four-year study of the evolution of comic book stylistics over an eighty-year period. Housed at the University of Calgary under the direction of Bart Beaty, Nick Sousanis, and Benjamin Woo; the project organisers are hoping to reach interested undergraduate students from the following countries: Australia, Brazil, China, France, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Vietnam. Students who would like to participate in this project for a period of between twelve and twenty-four weeks during the summer of 2016 can find more details via the link. Link (English, WG)

United States

Research

Santiago García’s, On The Graphic Novel, has been translated by Bruce Campbell and published through University Press of Mississippi. Link (English, WG)

Gustave Doré: Twelve Comic Strips, by David Kunzel, has been published through University Press of Mississippi. Link (English, WG)

The International Journal of Comic Art 17:1 (Spring 2015) has been published. Link (17/07/2015, English, WG)

In connection with the Children’s Literature Association Conference that is being hosted by The Ohio State University in 2016, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum will mount an exhibit on children’s comics, (running from the 4th June to the 30th October 2016). In conjunction with this exhibition, there is a call for papers for a peer-reviewed digital exhibit catalogue of critical essays about children’s comics, past and present. 500 word proposals are due by the 15th October. Link (English, WG)

Asia

Japan

Culture

Kyoto International Manga Museum‘s exhibition: “Ghost tales at the Museum, an Exhibition by Iris de Moüy”, opened on the 27th July and runs until the 31st August. Link (English, JBS)

On the 21st September there will be a talk event with gag manga artist Kei’ichi Tanaka, celebrating the anniversary of legendary gag manga artists Akatsuka Fujio. Link (Japanese, JBS)

The summer edition of this year’s comiket, Comic Market 88, the largest fan convention held in Japan, will be held from the 14th to the 16th August at Tokyo Big Sight. Link (English, JBS)

Two live action films based on hit manga “Attack On Titan” will be released in theaters around Japan on the 1st August and the 19th September. Link (Japanese, JBS)

The exhibition, “MANGA AND WAR”, which opened on the 6th June, is open until the 6th September, held at Kyoto International Manga Museum. Link (English, JBS)

Europe

Belgium

Culture

A museum dedicated to Philippe Geluck’s character, Le Chat, will open in central Brussels by 2019, it has been announced. Link (French, LTa)

France

Business

Publisher Delcourt-Soleil has partnered with digital platform Comixology and plans to released several of its titles in English translation. Link (07/07/2015, French, LTa)

Culture

Albert Uderzo has revealed the title of the next Astérix album along with some other details. The series’ 36th edition, Le Papyrus de César, will be released on the 22nd October and inspired by Julius Caesar’s Bellum Gallicum. Link (25/07/2015, French, LTa)

Germany

Culture

Comic Con Germany is going to take place in Stuttgart on the 25th and 26th June 2016. Link (02/07/2015, German, MdlI)

The Erika-Fuchs-Haus comic museum in Schwarzenbach an der Saale opened on the 1st August. Link (02/07/2015, German, MdlI)

A comic festival named “German Comic Con” (not to be confused with “Comic Con Germany” in Stuttgart) is going to take place in Dortmund on the 5th and 6th December. Link (10/07/2015, German, MdlI)

A reading by Christina Plaka and Barbara Yelin took place in Cologne. Link (13/07/2015, German, MdlI)

“Graphic Novel Day” is going to take place as part of “15. internationales literaturfestival berlin” on the 12th and 13th September; guests include Joann Sfar and Paco Roca. Link (German, MdlI)

A Flix exhibition is shown in Leipzig until the 28th August. Link (30/07/2015, German, MdlI)

Research

The programme of this year’s ComFor conference (Frankfurt, 4th-6th September) has been published. Link (23/07/2015, German, MdlI)

A comics panel is going to take place at the annual GfM Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft conference in Bayreuth on the 3rd October. Link (20/07/2015, German, MdlI)

Portugal

Culture

From the 25th July until the 7th August, the El Pep store & Gallery in LX factory (Lisbon), will be hosting an exhibition of original vignettes of António Gamito. Link (22/07/2015, Portuguese, RR)

From the 24th July until the 26th September, the main gallery of the library, Fernando Piteira Santos, in Amadora, will be hosting an exhibition titled, “Quarto Interior” (Interior Bedroom), by the Portuguese author Francisco Sousa Lobo. Entrance to the exhibition is free. Link (23/07/2015, Portuguese, RR)

On the 18th July was published a comic book titled “Shock-Tributo a Estrompa”. The book is a tribute to the publisher Estrompa (1942-2014) and the fanzine “Shock”. Link (10/07/2015, Portuguese, RR)

Romania

Culture

The Museum of the City of Bucharest is hosting the exhibition, Stories from Bucharest in Comics, which includes representations of the city by 60 artists from 1890 to 2015. The exhibition runs until the 31st August. Link (Romanian, MP)

Spain

Culture

Humoristán, a digital museum of Spanish graphic humor (http://humoristan.org/), has been opened. Link (02/07/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

The comics festival, Viñetas desde o Atlántico, will take place from the 10th to the 11th August in A Coruña. There will be conferences, exhibitions, professional meetings and invited authors such as Ana Miralles, Alfonso Zapico o Chloé Cruchaudet. Link (30/07/2015, Spanish/Galician, EdRC)

Research

Diccionario terminológico de la historieta (Terminological Dictionary of Comics), by Manuel Barrero, has been published by Asociación Cultural Tebeosfera. Link (07/07/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

UK

Job

There is a job listing for the role of Lecturer in Comics, Graphic Novels & Sequential Arts, in the School of Arts & Media at Teesside University. The application closing date is the 9th August. Link (English, WG)

Research

Remembered Reading: Memory, Comics and Post-War Constructions of British Girlhood, by Mel Gibson, has been published through Leuven University Press. Link (English, WG)

Global Manga: “Japanese” Comics without Japan?, edited by Casey Brienza, has been published by Ashgate. Link (English, WG)

The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship has posted a call for papers for a special collection entitled, Brilliant Corners: Approaches to Jazz and Comics. The submission deadline is the 16th January 2016. Link (30/07/2015, English, WG)

Oceania

Australia

Business

Twelve Panels Press, a new publisher of literary comics, announced their first book, The Salty River by Jan Bauer. Book launch on the 27th August at 6:30 PM at Readings Bookstore, Carlton. Link (English, AH)

Culture

Copier Jam! , an exhibition of independent zines and comics curated by Jeremy Staples opened on the 26th July at the Childers Art Space, QLD. Link (English, AH)

Matt Godden’s gallery wall-size graphic novel was displayed between the 3rd and 25th July at the Carton Project Space, Sydney. Link (English, AH)

Women in Comics: a panel conversation with Queenie Chan, Sarah Boxall, Lesley Vamos, Meri Amber and Alex Hammond about how female creators are shaping the comics world, will be held at Kinokuniya Sydney, on the 8th August at 3:30 PM. RSVP in store, by phone: 02 9262 7996 or email: ebd1-sydney@kinokuniya.co.jp

An exhibition of work from the underground comics art anthology Phatsville Comics, which began in Brisbane in 2002, will be on display at West End’s Junky Comics in Brisbane, QLD, starting on the 16th August. Link (English, AH)

Anthony Castle discussed Fly the Colour Fantastica, an anthology of comics by Australian women, on Radio Adelaide on the 11th July. Link (English, AH)

The Sugar City Comic Con will be held in Mackay, QLD on the 29th and 30th August. Link (English, AH)

Comics and culture will be celebrated at the Kathleen Syme Library Comics Fair, between 1 PM and 5:30 PM, on the 8th August 8 in Carlton, VIC. Workshops and performances from Bruce Mutard, Squishface Studios, Silent Army and AdviceComics. Events are free, registration is required. Link (English, AH)

The Zines and Independent Comics Symposium will be held in Brisbane, QLD, on the 22nd and 23rd August. Link (English, AH)

Preliminary voting has opened for The Golden Stapler Awards, Australia’s annual awards for zines and minicomics. Link (English, AH)

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 News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)

Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), William Grady (WG, UK), Aaron Humphrey (AH, Australia) Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany), Mihaela Precup (MP, Romania), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), Lise Tannahill (LTa, Belgium & France).

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Click here to see the News Review archive.

Suggestions for articles to be included in the News Review can be sent to Will Grady at the email address above.

Americas

Canada

Research

There is a call for contributions to the collection, New manga, Manfra, Franga: Varied and Reciprocal Influences between Manga and “BD”. Proposals are due by the 10th October. Link (25/06/2015, English, WG)

United States

Research

There is a call for papers for a book on Mad magazine, which is seeking scholarly examinations of the magazine, its humour, its artists, its cultural and political impact, and its influence. Proposals are due by the 15th September. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for an edited collection on the comics of Julie Doucet and Gabrielle Bell. Proposals are due by the 15th August. Link (14/06/2015, English, WG)

Postcolonial Comics: Texts, Events, Identities, edited by Binita Mehta, and Pia Mukherji, has been published through Routledge. Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for a collection entitled, Sacred Texts and Comics: Religion, Faith, and Graphic Narratives. Proposals are due by the 21st August. Link (26/06/2015, English, WG)

Asia

Japan

Culture

The Hagio Moto exhibition, “Silver Ship & Blue Sea”, is running until the 14th July at Kyoto International Manga Museum. Hagio is among the most prominent of the “Magnificent 49’ers”, a shojo manga artist group that emerged in the 1970s. During this exhibition, 26 original art works are on display. Link (English, JBS)

The exhibition “Manga and War”, at Kyoto International Manga Museum, runs until the 6th September, and covers six themes, including the “atomic bomb”, “Manchurai”, and more. Link (English, JBS)

Until the 10th October, Yonezawa Yonehiro Memorial Library is showing the “Akatsuka Characters — The Secrets of Their Birth”. Akatsuka Fujio, while lesser known overseas than Tezuka, is one of the “Gods of Manga”. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Europe

Austria

Culture

A book on comic collectors by Alex Jakubowski and Sandra Mann was published. Link (German, MdlI)

Belgium

Business

An original Tintin illustration dating from 1938 has sold at auction in Brussels for €380,000 euros. The illustration was a cover illustration for the pre-publication of King Ottakar’s Sceptre in Le Petit Vingtième; it was originally valued at 400-450,000 euros. Link (30/06/2015, French, LTa)

A Dutch court has ruled that Moulinsart, the company which manages the publishing and licensing of Tintin, does not own all Tintin copyright. Moulinsart are known for aggressively pursuing any unlicensed use of Tintin imagery. The case hinges on a 1942 document that shows Hergé gave all rights to Tintin publisher Casterman. Moulinsart are appealing. Link (English, LTa)

Germany

Culture

A comics exhibition titled “Gestrandet & verwurzelt” was shown in Munich until the 16th June as part of Munich Comic Festival. Link (05/06/2015, German, MdlI)

During Munich Comic Festival, the Peng! comic awards went to Roy Thomas, Jirō Taniguchi, David Füleki, and Barbara Yelin, among others. Link (09/06/2015, English, MdlI)

The anime and manga convention, Animagic, is going to take place in Bonn from the 31st July until the 2nd August; guests include Christina Plaka, Tetsuya Tsutsui, and Nobuhiro Watsuki. Link (German, MdlI)

The Christoph Martin Wieland translator award goes to Ulrich Pröfrock for his translation of Quai d’Orsay by Christophe Blains and Abel Lanzac. Link (11/06/2015, German, MdlI)

An exhibition of cartoons and comics by Ralph Ruthe, Joscha Sauer and Flix is going to be shown in Oberhausen from the 19th June 2015 until the 17th January 2016. Link (22/06/2015, German, MdlI)

Research

Alexander Dunst gave a talk on “reading comics” in Göttingen on the 11th June. Link (German, MdlI)

An interview with Alexander Dunst about his research group “hybrid narrativity” at Paderborn and Potsdam has been published at Dreimalalles. Link (10/06/2015, German, MdlI)

A recording of the panel discussion on comics research at Munich Comic Festival from the 7th June is available. Link (18/06/2015, German, MdlI)

The proceedings of last year’s conference on comic translation and adaptation in Hildesheim have been published as a book. Link (German, MdlI)

A conference on storyboards took place in Berlin on the 3rd and 4th July. Link (29/06/2015, German, MdlI)

Hungary

Culture

The exhibition, “Holocaust in Comic Books”, organised by the Israeli Cultural Institute, in Budapest, features works by Miriam Katin, Michel Kichka, Rutu Modan, Sid Jacobson, and Ernie Colón. Link (Hungarian, ES)

Portugal

Culture

The Clube Português de Banda Desenhada (Portuguese Club of Comics) has been revived. The club was founded in June 1976, but has remained largely inactive for the last 15 years. The club aims to organise comic auctions, workshops, exhibitions, seminars, book launches and courses. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Education

The Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa will be hosting a course about the relationship between Comics and Cinema. The course, which begins on the 6th July and ends on the 15th July, is taught by Ana Cabral Martins and Hugo Almeida. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Spain

Culture

The 9th edition of the FNAC- Ediciones Salamandra Graphic Novel Prize has been held. Works will be accepted until the 27th November. Link (28/05/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

The Metrópoli Comic Con will be celebrated in Gijón from the 2nd to the 5th July. Some of the invited authors include Kurt Busiek, Bob Layton, Carlos Pacheco and Steve Englehart. Link (15/06/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

An exhibition with originals from The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, by Isabel Greenberg, can be seen at Panta Rhei, Madrid, from the 5th June to the 30th August. Link (06/06/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

The association ACDCómic has published its list of the best works published in Spain in the second half of 2014. Link (01/06/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

Research

An anthology of essays about Marvel’s X-Men has been published by Alpha Decay entitled, Hijos del átomo. Once visiones sobre la Patrulla-X (Children of the atom. Eleven visions of the X-Men). Link (15/06/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

UK

Research

Remembered Reading: Memory, Comics and Post-War Constructions of British Girlhood, by Mel Gibson, has been published by Leuven University Press. Link (English, WG)

Comics, the Holocaust and Hiroshima, by Jane L. Chapman, Dan Ellin, and Adam Sherif, has been published by Palgrave Macmillan. Link (English, WG)

*                    *                    *

 News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)

Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Austria & Germany), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), Eszter Szép (ES, Hungary), Lise Tannahill (LTa, Belgium)

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Click here to see the News Review archive.

Suggestions for articles to be included in the News Review can be sent to Will Grady at the email address above.

Africa

South Africa

Culture

The current exhibition at Erdmann Contemporary is Speechless, a comic art exhibition. Link (English, WG)

Americas

United States

Education

The University of Massachusetts Boston has recently acquired a collection of comic books, called the Allan D. MacDougall Popular Culture Archive. A list of comics can be found via the link, and is grouped by publisher. Link (English, WG)

Obituary

David Beronä, a comics scholar and librarian, has recently passed away. He authored Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels (2008). Link (English, WG)

Research

A special issue of the journal, Composition Studies, on Comics, Multimodality, and Composition has been published. Link (English, WG)

There is an extended deadline of 30th June for submissions to the edited collection, The Canadian Alternative, which focuses on  Canadian graphic novelists and cartoonists. Link (02/05/2015, English, WG)

The Northeast Popular/American Culture Association (NEPCA) is seeking paper proposals on comics and graphic novels for its fall conference to be held at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire on the 30th and 31st October.The deadline to submit proposals is the 15th June. Link (12/04/2015, English, WG)

There is a call for papers for an edited collection entitled The Comics of Art Spiegelman. Abstracts are due by the 15th June. Link (04/05/2015, English, WG)

Penn State University Press has published the Graphic Medicine Manifesto, co authored by MK Czerwiec, Ian Williams, Susan Squier, Michael Green, Kimberley Myers, and Scott Smith. Link (English, WG)

The Comics Journal has a report on Queers & Comics: The LGBTQ Cartoonists and Comics Conference. Link (18/05/2015, English, WG)

Drawn from the Classics: Essays on Graphic Adaptations of Literary Works, edited by Stephen E. Tabachnick and Esther Bendit Saltzman has been published through McFarland. Link (English, WG)

Europe

Austria

Culture

The 1st Vienna Comic Con is going to take place on the 21st and 22nd November. Link (14/05/2015, German, MdlI)

Ben Katchor is going to teach a course on ‘Comics and Performance’ in Salzburg from the 20th-25th July. Link (28/05/2015, German, MdlI)

France

Research

The programme, and other details for the Sixth International Graphic Novel and Comics Conference / Ninth International Bande Dessinée Society Conference, which takes place in Paris between the 22nd and 27th June, can be found via the link. Link (English, WG)

Germany

Culture

The exhibition on Western comics, Going West!, is now shown in Dortmund. Link (04/05/2015, German, MdlI)

An exhibition of recent German comics was shown in Asperg until the 29th May. Link (04/05/2015, German, MdlI)

Munich Comic Festival is going to take place from the 4th until the 7th June this year; guests include Dave McKean, Mike Perkins, and Jock. Link (13/05/2015, German, MdlI)

A roundtable on reading of webcomics took place at the re:publica web 2.0 conference in Berlin on the 5th May; a video recording is available. Link (German, MdlI)

Publisher Tokyopop and website Animando have founded a new award for dōjinshi. Link (13/05/2015, German, MdlI)

Several comic authors are going to participate in Comic Symposium in Saarbrücken on the 9th June, including Barbara Yelin and Marijpol. Link (21/05/2015, MdlI)

A series of exhibitions of abstract comics is going to be shown in Bremen from the 13th June until the 8th November. Link (25/05/2015, German, MdlI)

Research

Stephan Packard has been awarded one of this year’s Heinz Maier Leibnitz awards of the German Research Foundation (DFG). Link (07/05/2015, German, MdlI)

A roundtable organised by the German Society for Comics Studies (ComFor) is going to take place on the 7th June as part of Munich Comic Festival. Link (14/05/2015, German, MdlI)

Two talks on autobiographical comics were given in Bonn on the 20th May. Link (18/05/2015, German, MdlI)

Portugal

Culture

From the 29th May until the 14th June, the Casa da Cultura of Beja will host the annual International Festival of Comics (XI Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada de Beja). This festival is usually composed by some exhibitions, book/magazine launches, author events, workshops, concerts, and much more. Link (Portuguese, English and French, RR)

Spain

Culture

An exhibition about the work of Japanese author Yuichi Yokohama can be seen at Centro Centro, Madrid, from the 27th May to the 6th September. Link (25/05/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

An exhibition about the creation of Las Meninas, best Spanish work at the Barcelona International Comic Fair, can be seen at Libreria Gil, Santander, from the 6th May to the 4th June. Link (06/05/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

Research

The international conference, Comics y Compromiso social (Comics and social commitment), will be celebrated at Valencia from the 18th to the 20th November. Abstracts are due by the 15th July. Link (16/02/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

The summer course, Imágenes y migraciones del cómic y la novela gráfica (Images and migrations from comics and graphic novels), will be celebrated at the University of Alcalá from the 23rd to the 26th June. Link (16/05/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

Switzerland

Culture

The exhibition, La Magie du Western dans la Bande Dessinée Franco-Belge, which focuses upon Franco-Belgian Western comics will be at the château de St-Maurice from the 22nd May until the 15th November. Link (French, WG)

UK

Research

The Comic Electric: A Digital Comics Symposium will be held at The University of Hertfordshire on the 14th October. Abstracts are due by the 27th July. Link (29/05/2015, English, WG)

Reports on the Applied Comics Network meetup which took place on the 9th May can be found via the link (scroll down). Link (English, WG)

There is a call for papers for, TRANSITIONS 6 – New Directions in Comics Studies 2015 Symposium, which will take place on 31st October at Birkbeck, University of London. Link (01/06/2015, English, WG)

*                    *                    *

 News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)

Correspondents: Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Austria & Germany), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal).

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Click here to see the News Review archive.

Suggestions for articles to be included in the News Review can be sent to Will Grady at the email address above.

Americas

United States

Culture

Nominations for the 2015 Eisner Awards have been announced, inclusive of the category for Best Scholarly/Academic Work. Link (English, WG)

Education

The University of Chicago has acquired papers of cartoonist, Daniel Clowes. Link (30/04/2015, English, WG)

Job 

The International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF), announces an open call for the position of Treasurer. Applications are being accepted until the 31st May. Link (English, WG)

Research

The Comic Book Film Adaptation: Exploring Modern Hollywood’s Leading Genre, by Liam Burke, has now been published through the University Press of Mississippi. Link (English, WG)

Asia

Japan

Culture

From the 10th May until the 28th June, Fudenosato Kobo, located in Hiroshima prefecture, is holding the “Matsumoto Leiji x Maki Miyako; Couple Collaboration Exhibition.” It includes works by manga artists and married couple Matsumoto, whose representative works include “Galaxy Express 999”, and Maki, a shojo manga artist who debuted in the 1950s and who also worked on the design for the earliest version of fashion doll Licca chan. There will be events throughout the month of May with both artists. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Law & Politics

A manga created by premier Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, with its aim to promote the amendment of the constitution, is under fire for containing “a lot of nonsense”. Link (03/05/2015, Japanese, JBS)

Research

The 15th Annual Convention of the Japan Society for Studies in Cartoon and Comics (JSSCC, Manga Gakkai), will be held at the Aster Plaza in Hiroshima City, on the 27th and 28th June. The first day is dedicated to scholarly presentations, and the second to a symposium with specialist guests. This year the symposium’s theme is “The many facets of Barefoot Gen”. Details on the rest of the program will be posted on the website soon. Link (Japanese, JBS)

Europe

Belgium

Culture

Hergé’s The Castafiore Emerald has been adapted as an opera by a Belgian company, to be performed in September 2015. Link (07/04/2015, French, LTa)

France

Business

Toulon publisher Soleil Productions, founded in 1989 by Mourad Boudjellal and now owned by Delcourt, is downsizing significantly, it has been announced. The majority of its activity will ‘disappear’ according to Actualitté. Link (15/04/2015, French, LTa)

Culture

A new Ric Hochet album is to be published at the end of May, five years after the death of orginal illustrator Tibet. Link (23/04/2015, French, LTa)

Germany

Culture

An exhibition of the comic, Weisse Wölfe, opened in Dortmund on the 15th April. Link (06/04/2015, German, MdlI)

Edition Alfons has announced a new book series on comics; the first volume by Detlef Lorenz will be about Robinson Crusoe and is going to be published this summer. Link (23/04/2015, German, MdlI)

Several comic-related events take place as part of 22. Internationales Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart (ITFS) in May. Link (28/04/2015, German, MdlI)

The festival, Graphic Novel Tage, is going to take place in Hamburg from the 18th until the 22nd May; guests include Lewis Trondheim and Flix. Link (30/04/2015, German, MdlI)

Research

A conference on visual satire and caricature is going to take place in Obernkirchen from the 15th until the 17th September. Link (09/04/2015, German, MdlI)

A series of workshops on comics takes place in Cologne on the 24th April, 22nd May, and 26th June. Link (20/04/2015, German, MdlI)

A lecture series on “literature and illustration” in Hanover features two talks on comics, by Nathalie Mälzer on the 24th June and by Christina Meyer on the 15th July. Link (23/04/2015, German, MdlI)

Hungary

Culture

The 11th International Comics Festival Budapest is held on the 10th May at Dürer Kert, Budapest. International guest artists and writers include Lucie Lomová (Czech Republic), Ptiluc (France), Typex (Netherlands) and Pierre Wazem (Switzerland).  Link (01/05/2015, English, ES)

Portugal

Culture

On the 15th May the authors Anton Kannemeyer (South Africa), Posy Simmonds (England) and Marcelo D’Salete (Brasil) will discuss the different procedures of comics production and the dialogues that these procedures establish with global culture. This round table discussion, moderated by Pedro Moura, is attached to a cycle of conferences named Próximo Futuro (Next Future), and will take place in Lisbon, in Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. Link (03/04/2015, Portuguese & English, RR)

From the 29th May until the 14th June, the Casa da Cultura of Beja will host the annual International Festival of Comics (XI Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada de Beja). This festival is usually composed by some exhibitions, book/magazine launches, author events, workshops, concerts, and much more. Link (18/04/2015, Portuguese, RR)

Spain

Business

José A. Serrano has published a list with the top-selling comics in some of the main bookstores in Spain in 2014. Link (Spanish, EdRC)

Culture

The 33rd edition of the Barcelona International Comic Fair was celebrated from the 16th to the 19th April. Its Gran Premio (Great Prize) was given to scriptwriter and translator, Enrique Sánchez Abulí, celebrated for his classic series Torpedo 1936. Las meninas won in the category of best Spanish comic, and Saga was awarded best foreign work. Link (17/04/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

The travel section of El País has an article with the list of the best 10 comics bookstores in Madrid. Link (01/04/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

An exhibiton with originals of the work of painter and comic artist Miquel Fuster can be seen at the University of Barcelona from the 29th April to the 15th May. Link (29/04/2015, Spanish/Catalan, EdRC)

Research

The 13th edition of Unicomic, a three-day seminar of comics studies, will take place at the University of Alicante. Link (Spanish, EdRC)

Switzerland

Culture

The comic magazine, Comixene, which was cancelled in 2012, is going to be relaunched in August. Link (27/04/2015, German, MdlI)

UK

Research

There is a call for papers for the 1st Global Conference on Superheroes, which will take place between the 7th and 9th September at Mansfield College, Oxford. Link (17/04/2015, English, WG)

The British Consortium of Comics Scholars Day and Comics Tea Party will take place on the 30th May at the  University of Sussex. Link (08/04/2015, English, WG)

*                    *                    *

 News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk)

Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan), Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Germany & Switzerland), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal), Eszter Szép (ES, Hungary), Lise Tannahill (LTa, Belgium & France).

Click here for News Review correspondent biographies.

Click here to see the News Review archive.

Suggestions for articles to be included in the News Review can be sent to Will Grady at the email address above.

Americas

United States

Culture

New Yorker cartoonist, Roz Chast, won the National Book Critics Circle autobiography prize for Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?. Link (12/03/2015, English, WG)

Education

The Smithsonian and Stan Lee have teamed up to offer a free online course, The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact On Pop Culture, which begins in May. Link (English, WG)

Obituary

Golden Age comics artist, Irwin Hasen, has passed away at the age of 96. Link (16/03/2015, English, WG)

Harold “Fred” Fredericks, who drew Mandrake the Magician from 1965 until 2013 also passed away. Link (13/03/2015, English, WG)

Research

Details for the conference, Frames: Jewish Culture and the Comic Book, which takes place at Princeton University between the 9th and 10th April, can be found through the link. Link (English, WG)

Moving Panels:Translating Comics to Film, by Logan Ludwig, has now been published through Sequart. Link (English, WG)

The Future of Comics, the Future of Men: Matt Fraction’s Casanova, by Geoff Klock, has been published through Sequart. Link (English, WG)

Asia

Japan

Culture

From the 25th April until the 5th July, Kyoto International Manga Museum is holding the exhibition “Liánhuánhuà: China’s Unknown Manga?” There will be a gallery talk on the 25th April, and a related academic symposium (The Many Faces of Liánhuánhuà: Exploring common ground with other genres) on the 30th May. Link (English, JBS)

The Kita Kyushu Manga Museum, celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the series “Cooking Papa” by Ueyama Tochi, is holding a special exhibition, “Cooking Papa and friends from Kyushu/Fukuoka”, from the 30th May until the 7th July. Link (Japanese, JBS)

On the 16th April, a public symposium with manga artist and “infamous” vagina artist Rokudenashiko (Megumi Igarashi) with as a theme “What is obscenity?” will be held at the Japan Education Center (Tokyo, Chiyoda ward). Link (27/03/2015, Japanese, JBS)

Obituary

Manga artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi has passed away. Link (English, WG)

Europe

Austria

Culture

Another television film on Nicolas Mahler was shown on the 15th March. Link (German, MdlI)

France

Culture

André Franquin’s long-running series Gaston Lagaffe is to be adapted for cinema by French distributor UGC. Link (18/03/2015, French, LTa)

Ninety-nine early Bécassine strips, which originally appeared from 1905-1914, are to be republished for the first time by Gautier-Languereau. Link (24/03/2015, French, LTa)

The title and release date of the next Astérix album have been announced. The book, written by Jean-Yves Ferri and illustrated by Didier Conrad, will be entitled Le Papyrus de Caesar and released on the 22nd October. Link (31/03/2015, French, LTa)

Germany

Business

Manga sales in German-speaking countries have increased by 15% from last year, reports GfK Entertainment. Link (05/03/2015, German, MdlI)

Comic sales in general have increased in Germany, resulting in a turnover of € 255 million in 2014, according to buchreport. Link (10/03/2015, German, MdlI)

Publisher Lappan was acquired by Carlsen. Link (30/03/2015, German, MdlI)

Culture

This year’s Preis der Literaturhäuser award goes to Nicolas Mahler. Link (German, MdlI)

The 2nd Düsseldorfer Comic und Manga Convention took place on the 29th March; guests included Anne Delseit and Ulf K. Link (01/03/2015, German, MdlI)

An exhibition on The Beatles in comics is going to be shown in Munich from the 7th May until the 9th July. Link (02/03/2015, German, MdlI)

A Nick Knatterton exhibition is shown in Saarlouis until the 10th May and in Bamberg from the 23rd May. Link (09/03/2015, German, MdlI)

The award, Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis, now accepts comics as nominations in its literature category. Link (12/03/2015, German, MdlI)

After Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung dropped all its comic strips, it now runs Volker Reiche’s Strizz again. Link (16/03/2015, German, MdlI)

The exhibition on Western comics, Going West!, is shown in Troisdorf until the 26th April; an interview with its curator Alexander Braun has been published. Link (17/03/2015, German, MdlI)

A Ralf König exhibition is being shown in Kassel until the 17th May. Link (19/03/2015, German, MdlI)

The annual meeting of the Deutsche Organisation der nichtkommerziellen Anhänger des lauteren Donaldismus (D.O.N.A.L.D.) took place in Schwerin on the 21st March. Link (22/03/2015, German, MdlI)

An exhibition of Belgian independent comics is shown in Rostock until the 19th April. Link (30/03/2015, German, MdlI)

Law & Politics

The student who destroyed items of a comics exhibition in Duisburg in 2013 was sentenced to a fine. Link (24/03/2015, German, MdlI)

Research

This year’s conference of the German Society for Comics Studies (ComFor) is going to take place in Frankfurt from the 4th until the 6th September. The conference theme is history in/of comics; the deadline for submissions is the 15th May. Link (05/03/2015, German, MdlI)

A PDF documenting the event “Webcomics im Focus” at last year’s Comicsalon Erlangen has been published. Link (12/03/2015, German, MdlI)

An encyclopedia of piccolo comic books is going to be published in June. Link (27/03/2015, German, MdlI)

Graphisches Erzählen. Neue Perspektiven auf Literaturcomics, a collected volume on “literature comics”, has been published. Link (German, MdlI)

Portugal

Culture

Penin Loureiro is organising a comics course in Bordalo Pinheiro Museum in Lisbon. The course is divided into two modules, with 4 sessions each. The course begins on 11th April and ends on the 30th May, and is taught by various comic authors and artists. Link (28/03/2015, Portuguese, RR)

The Galeria da Real Fábrica de Panos in Covilhã is hosting an exhibition of comics panels by the author Pedro Emanuel, about “O Magriço”, the legendary knight of Penedono. The exhibition, organised by the Department of Architecture of the University of Beira Interior. It can be visited until 24th May, from Tuesdays until Sundays, from 9.30am until 12.00pm, and from 14.30pm until 18.00pm, and entrance is free. Link (18/03/2015, Portuguese, RR)

The IPDJ in Viseu is hosting an exhibition dedicated to Spider-Man. The exhibition titled, “50 anos do Homem-Aranha” (50 Years of Spider-Man), can be visited until the 6th April, and admission is free. LInk (20/03/2015, Portuguese, RR)

From the 9th April until the 24th April, the Escola Superior de Educação e Ciências Sociais de Leiria (in Leiria) will host an exhibition dedicated to the centenary of Jijé, with free entry to the exhibition. Link (Portuguese, RR)

Spain

Culture

The 33rd edition of the Barcelona International Comic Fair will be celebrated from the 16th to the 19th April. Link (03/03/2015, English, EdRC)

An exhibition celebrating the 50th of Quino’s character, Mafalda, can be visited in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) from the 17th March to the 31st May. Link (15/03/2015, English, EdRC)

A film adapation of Vázquez’s classic, Anacleto: Agente secreto, will be released in September. A trailer is already available. Link (18/02/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

Bernard Willem Holtrop has won the International Humour Award Gat Perich. Link (30/03/2015, Spanish, EdRC)

UK

Culture

Details of Dee-Con 2015, which takes place at the University of Dundee on the 4th April, can be found through the link. Link (English, WG)

Research

The British Consortium of Comics Scholars (BCCS) has organised the BCCS Day with a Comics Tea Party, a symposium which will take place in Brighton on the 30th May. Link (English, WG)

Oceania

Australia

Culture

A launch party was held at Silent Army, in Melbourne on the 27th March for the release of #Takedown by David Blumenstein, Guzumo by Matt Emery, Drawn Onward by Matt Madden, Mowgli’s Mirror by Olivier Schrauwen, and Blammo 8 1/2 by Noah Van Sciver. Link (English, ALM)

Research

The programme for the Inkers and Thinkers Symposium, to be held 15th-16th May, was released on March 21st. Link (21/03/2015, English, ALM)

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  News Editor: Will Grady (comicsforumnews@hotmail.co.uk) Correspondents: Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto (JBS, Japan),  Enrique del Rey Cabero (EdRC, Spain), William Grady (WG, UK), Martin de la Iglesia (MdlI, Austria & Germany), Amy Louise Maynard (ALM, Australia), Renatta Rafaella (RR, Portugal),  Lise Tannahill (LTa, France). Click here for News Review correspondent biographies. Click here to see the News Review archive. Suggestions for articles to be included in the News Review can be sent to Will Grady at the email address above.